A pair of sheriffs in Arizona say they won’t enforce the governor’s newly extended stay-at-home order.
Doug Schuster of Mohave County and Mark Lamb of Pinal County have spoken to one another and are in agreement they will not arrest or jail anyone found to be in violation of Gov. Doug Ducey’s stay-at-home order.
Instead, the sheriffs told the Arizona Republic, they will aim to educate members of the public about why the order is in place and how they can stay in compliance.
“We’ll get compliance,” Schuster said. “These businesses are not looking to butt heads with law enforcement or the state.”
Ducey last week extended the state’s stay-at-home order until May 15, citing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. The governor said he will allow some businesses to gradually open beginning on May 8, but would not entertain the idea of a statewide lift on the lockdown order just yet.
“Law enforcement can suggest they begin listening to the order. And if they don’t, they’re going to have a class 1 misdemeanor, which is a $2,500 fine and up to six months in jail, and we will enforce that,” Ducey said in announcing the extension.
Lamb said, “I think people want to know that we’re going to support their constitutional rights. I felt [Ducey] pushed me into a position where I needed to make our stance clear.”
“The numbers don’t justify the actions anymore,” Lamb said. “Three hundred deaths is not a significant enough number to continue to ruin the economy.”
Arizona has reported fewer than 9,000 cases of the coronavirus and under 400 deaths.
